Priority is claimed with respect to German Application No. 199 100 829-16 filed in Germany on Mar. 3, 1999, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to a support for a vehicle seat. The invention also relates to a vehicle seat which is fitted with such a support.
EP 0 229 737 B1 discloses a support of the type mentioned at the beginning, which is fastened to a supporting frame of a seat and there supports a lateral cushion of the seat upholstery. A support of this type improves the seat comfort of the seat. Moreover, in a support which is designed as a side support and which supports a side cushion of the seat, the lateral retention in the seat for the particular occupant is improved and, as a result, the vehicles safety is increased.
The known support has a flap which is hinged-mounted on the support, and an inflatable chamber which is arranged between the support and this flap and which is fastened on the support. The flap can be actuated by the air pressure in this chamber, and the seat cushion which is supported on the flap can be adjusted as a result. By adjusting the cushion in this manner, the upholstery of the seat can be adapted to the requirements of the particular occupant.
The present invention is concerned with the problem of specifying a particularly expedient embodiment for a support and for a seat of the type mentioned at the beginning.
According to the invention, this problem is solved by use of a support member as a pneumatic pressure accumulator this gives the support a dual function enabling the space occupied in the seat by the support to be suitably put to an additional use. The proposal according to the invention makes it possible, for example, for a pneumatic system which is present in the vehicle to be expanded by the pneumatic pressure accumulator according to the invention, so that overall a larger accumulator volume is available for the said pneumatic system. Also, with such a pneumatic system another pressure accumulator can be replaced or reduced in size, so that an optimization of the pneumatic system is made possible in this regard too.
An example of the pneumatic consumers which may be connected to the pneumatic pressure accumulator formed by the support are pneumatically operating driving elements of a central locking system of the vehicle. It is particularly advantageous if the seat has upholstery which can be adjusted by means of inflatable chambers and if these chambers which form the pneumatic consumers are connected to the pneumatic pressure accumulator formed by the support. In this matter, the pneumatic consumers and pneumatic pressure accumulator are situated in local proximity to one another, so that long hose lines which are susceptible to possible leakage and have complicated hose routing can be omitted. This advantage is particularly apparent if on the actual support according to the invention there is mounted at least one inflatable chamber which is connected to the pneumatic pressure accumulator integrated in the support and which can be actuated in order to adjust the cushion to be supported by the support.
According to a preferred embodiment, the support according to the invention can be fastened in the region of an armrest of the seat and is used there to support a side cushion of the seat upholstery. In this region, the pneumatic pressure accumulator which is formed by the support is crash-protected and, for example, also security-relevant pneumatic consumers, such as, for example, a pneumatically actuated central locking system, can be supplied with the required compressed air.
The problem on which the invention is based is also solved by a seat which forms a compact subassembly on account of the dual function integrated in the support(s).
Further important features and advantages of the invention emerge from the subclaims, from the drawings and from the accompanying description of the figures with reference to the drawings.
It goes without saying that the features mentioned above and the features still to be explained below can be used not only in the combination indicated in each case, but also in other combinations or on their own, without departing from the scope of the present invention.